Li Long
Li Long (リ・ロン, Ri Ron, Chinese: 李龍, Pinyin: Lǐ Lóng), is a character in the Soul series of video games. He appears in Soul Edge and appears as a bonus character in Soulcalibur III. Biography After the death of the great Eirakutei, the Ming Dynasty was left open to plundering by pirates from southern Japan. Li Long was hired by the emperor on a private mission to assassinate the leader of the pirates and bring Soul Edge home with him. However, he never really cared about Soul Edge and instead decided to not only assassinate the leader of the pirates, but the daimyo feudal lords as well. This was not part of the mission, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would succeed. However, Long was not as strong as he thought, and an attack on the head of a powerful family in Honshū failed horribly. Left badly injured, he was rescued by a young girl named Chie. Chie was the daughter of the former leader of the Fu-Ma clan, Hachiebi, operating as an innkeeper. Chie had been permanently traumatized by the death of her mother as a child and had permanently lost the ability to speak. She devoted herself to Long's care, and they eventually fell in love; and he stayed with Chie long after he was made fit for travel again. One day, while Li Long was out, a fight had broken out at the Inn. Chie was thought to have been killed, and a wounded Hachibei told Long that a wandering swordsman had started the fight and left. Witnesses thought that it may have been Heishiro Mitsurugi, but obviously, Mitsurugi was not the only swordsman wandering the land. In actuality, the swordsman had been a ninja of the Fu-Ma clan, sent by its leader, Toki, to take back a sword that Yahei had stolen from them. Long set out for revenge on Chie's behalf, learning along the way that Mitsurugi was looking for Soul Edge. Li Long decided that if he found the sword first, Mitsurugi would eventually have to come to fight him; and if it turned out that Mitsurugi wasn't responsible for Chie's death, he would seek out every last swordsman until he got his revenge. In his journey, he came to Valencia, Spain, where he found the dread pirate, Cervantes de Leon, keeper of the watchers--one of which Long had killed previously--and possessor of the Soul Edge. He tried to steal the evil blade from him, and ended up in a fierce battle with the pirate; but he was quickly defeated by the sword's overwhelming power and fell to the ground, drenched in blood, calling out Chie's name. At that exact moment, Chie awoke in a monastery in Honshū. She may have been severely scarred on her back, but she was alive, and eventually learned of Long's misguided quest for revenge on her behalf. She waited for him for a month, when she discovered that she was pregnant with his child. After his complete defeat at the pirate's hand, Li Long tried to escape. Cervantes chased him, but for some odd reason he gave up pursuit (probably at the presence of Sophitia Alexandra). Before fainting, Li Long took a look back and witnessed a bright column of light coming from the port - the Evil Seed. When he woke up, he found he not only suffered physically, but mentally as well. He questioned himself if his acts were righteous and not atrocities, and his confidence shattered while his inner self was consumed. Unable to fend off the assassins hunting him anymore, he fled during the nights, disguised and under a false name. Three years later, when Xianghua, a member of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Guard, was preparing to leave on a similar mission on the emperor's behalf, she was asked by Meimei to check on her brother, Long, and see if he was alive. Xianghua did eventually learn that Li Long had not died, finding him just after having won a battle, but he told her that he would never return to Ming Dynasty China again. Eventually he stumbled upon a town, and hoped to get lost among its population. But even there his pursuers were approaching him. About to lose hope, he was saved by a girl. He tried to leave, but at last he accepted her offer and stayed with her, knowing it wasn't meant to last. His pursuers were still on the hunt, and she reminded him of Chie, stirring his guilty conscience. She took care of him, because she felt he has lost everything. Then one day the assassins found him. The girl tried to tell him to leave, but Li Long ignored her and stood with his weapon in hand, trembling. In the past, it was hard to believe he'd been defeated, but now he barely defeated his foes. In that moment something returned to him: how to fight for something. He decided to leave after that. As he was leaving, the girl ran to him and gently touched his back, communicating her feelings more clearly than ever. But still he left the town that day, now knowing what to do, for the ones who urge him to live. Half of himself was left with that dreaded blade. Now it's time to regain it, but still he doesn't know that his lover is searching for him, and that the proof of their love is now breathing. Li Long eventually crossed paths with Taki, from whom he learned about Chie's survival. He now lives with the Fu-ma clan, which is under Chie's leadership, with her and their son. Soul Edge Ending Li Long is defeated by Cervantes and is laying on the ground, badly beaten... Bad Ending: Li Long dies, and the scene changes to Chie standing in a field holding a comb. She starts to cry, wondering where Li Long is. She then realizes that she may never see him again, and she's carrying his baby. Good Ending: Li Long stands up. An illusion of Chie appears, and he goes over to hug her. He then realizes that he is hugging the bigger blade of Soul Edge. The smaller blade floats up into the air and speaks to him in Chie's voice, asking him to return to her. Li Long grabs Soul Edge and returns. Weapons * Nunchaku * Snake Wind * Titan * Phoenix * Gemini Rod * Steel Dragon * Zhongkui * White Tiger * Huoshen * Asura * Twin Thunder * Shuang Lei * Falcon Stages The Narrow Gorge (Soul Blade/Edge) The San Kyo gorge is found running through one of China's greatest rivers, the Yangtze. It's a vital point by traveling in the mainland, and is quite fit for travel in a raft. Li Long came to the conclusion that Mitsurugi must come through this passage. Burning with vengeful thoughts, Li Long awaited his rival to show. Lakeside Coliseum (SC3:AE) What is the most primitive, most appalling, yet most exciting sport? The answer lies in ancient Rome. It is the Colosseum, where men bet their lives in combat. On a certain lakeshore exists a secret arena constructed to recreate that world. Men of power who have already exhausted all other luxuries the world has to offer come here to watch men fight for their lives. This place was built in search of this ultimate stimulation. In contrast to the blood-stained madness of the arena, the surrounding landscape is pleasant and peaceful. The surface of the lake calmly reflects sunlight onto the gently swaying trees of the forest... The arena, which has tested the blood of countless warriors, breathes deeply of the clear lakeside air and quietly awaits the signal for the next battle to be. (Note: Li Long shares this stage with Rock, but without the cage and at daytime) Theme Music Soul Edge *"Dragon's Call" Soul Edge Khan Super Session *"Moonlight Shadows" Quotes Soul Edge (Blade) *''You're pathetic. (Akkenai yatsu da.)'' *''You're not that bad. (Nakanaka yaru na.)'' *''Don't blame me. (Ore wo uramu na.)'' *''Don't blame -ungh! (Ore wo uramu -ungh!)'' - after beating SoulEdge. *''Hrrgh!'' Soulcalibur III *''Hooo...'' *''Not bad.'' *''It was nothing personal'' *''You pathetic fool.'' *''Phew.'' *''Don't ever get up...'' *''Again!'' Trivia * His name resembles Bruce Lee's Chinese name, Li Xiao Long. * In Soulcalibur II, Maxi can use Falcon, Li Long's nunchaku, and in the weapon gallery, it mention's that Li Long once used it. * Li Long appears in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny as a created character in Quick Match using the Maxi's moveset. * Li Long's reasons for believing that Chie is dead can be potentially be explained in Taki's bio; what probably happened is that Toki (Taki's Master) sent someone to find and possibly kill Hachibei - this would be the unidentified swordsman who was seen during the fight (it wasn't Mitsurugi). Furthermore, Taki's lie that Hachibei and Chie had died may have also caused confusion. This isn't officially stated, but it makes some level of sense. * In the Soul Blade Edge Master Mode, it is implied that Cervantes was the one who killed Chie, this however is obviously a translation error. Not only was Chie not killed, but it makes no sense that Cervantes would go all the way to China, kill one person, and go all the way back to Spain again. * In SCIII's "Quick Play" mode, Li Long's Destined Battle is against Taki. As revealed on the Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny developer blog, Taki revealed to Li Long that Chie was still alive in Japan. * In his Soul Calibur III 2nd player outfit he has a scar on his forehead. He probably had it during his battle with Cervantes in Soul Edge. * Li Long appeared in Soulcalibur V's Quick Battle mode using Maxi's moveset. Relationships * Li Long's sister, Meimei, is Xianghua's best friend. * Has trained Maxi while under the alias Zhang Wu. * Sought revenge on Mitsurugi for Chie's death, though the latter was revealed to be alive and Mitsurugi, who, in Long's Edge Master Mode, claims that he would never kill a woman, wasn't the culprit. * Was defeated by Cervantes, but managed to escape death thanks to Sophitia's arrival. * Has a 'Destined Battle' with Taki in Soulcalibur III's Quick Play. * Informed by Taki that Chie is still alive. * His son lives in the Fu-Ma village. Category:Males Category:Protagonists